Euphoria
by gunstalk
Summary: She's always seen love as an inconvenience - never did she think it would find its way to her through the gates of an amusement park. Maybe the affection she longed for was in the hands of a certain red eyed young man. AU
1. Chapter 1

_I'm here with a new story? I swear on my life I won't abandon this one oops_

_and sorry if there are any spelling, grammar or any kind of mistakes in here.. im not home and i tried using a grammar thingy on google but since i only have a stupid slow iphone i cant really uh get it to load so_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater in any way, shape or form. _

_Warnings: Some language, AU, OOC-ness_

_(in this, Death City's sort of like New York or L.A. it's a popular city, but since this is AU, it's completely different. pretty much.)_

...

"I got the job."

To say that Maka was happy for herself would be an overstatement. The four words were over used and tasted bitter on her tongue and she fought back the urge to just hang up the phone and curl back up in her lovely bed. But, of course, she would never do such a thing. Her family was very likely to want to know the news. They would probably be ecstatic.

It was just the fact of _where _she would be working that didn't exactly let her be as thrilled as she should have been. Seriously, though, who wants to be around screaming - sometimes - buzzed kids riding huge rides and walking around the muddy grounds with drinks sloshing around in their hands and food stuffed inside of their mouths, chatting about pointless topics and things that are completely irrelevant to everything in life?

At least that's what Maka saw when she imagined working at an _amusement park_.

The only reason she even tried to get the job was because everything else was out of the question. She had been turned down one too many times by grocery and book stores and cafés, etc etc - so she inevitably chose something simple enough, yet not boring. She stubbornly wanted it to be a job where she could work on the weekends, too, instead of being bored, all cooped up inside of her house eating frozen yogurt on her ratted old couch with a movie popped in her DVD player. Because of this, she looked past the load of good paying and easy looking jobs and settled for one just outside of Death City.

And after waiting close to three days for a response, (after filling out a resume, of course) she got one and soon enough an interview ensued.

To say her interview went well was a lie. Okay, maybe not a _lie_, but it didn't go as smooth as she had expected it to. Her thoughts were crammed and she had found it troubling having to listen to some man go through a bunch of jibber jabber. Maka even told herself that she would just go in there, sit down or do whatever the hell she had to do and get out of there as fast as she could. But like previously stated, it never happened quite like that.

Because for many reasons, the interviewer was very uptight and not exactly the friendliest guy out there either. He rarely smiled and had pursed lips in concentration throughout most of the interview. He also asked so many questions that Maka was actually beginning to tremble with nervousness. Thankfully at the end of the interview, the man had given Maka a light, small smile and easily said, "We look forward to having you on board" - just like in all of those movie interviews. And immediately, her hands and legs stopped shaking and she couldn't help letting out a tiny gasp. Just like that, she had a job and the man took her hand in his and shook it.

Maka thought about how her hand was beginning to feel numb and how she just wanted him to let it go, but ended up putting a forced smile on her face, hoping it didn't show her false excitement. His grip on her hand was soon released and she fought back the urge to shake it to get some circulation flowing through it again.

As time had passed - two days, to be precise - she decided to finally call her family house in regards of her getting the job. Sure, she should have told them straight away, but she had been having problems with her sleeping pattern and she slept the days away within the blink of an eye and she found sleep more important at the time.

Her heavy eyes rapidly fluttered to a close every little while and clearly, she was _still _very exhausted. Maka couldn't help but just want to sleep and leave the world to everyone else for only a little while. After all, she was content now and didn't feel half of the stress she had felt before.

And she had become fairly aware of many things, oh yes she surely did.

Yes, she could now stop taking money from her parents and yes, she could most definitely not have to worry about being kicked out of her apartment any time soon, considering she almost had been once before with a lack of money in her clutch (and she refused to take too much from her mom and dad, even when she was almost thrown out on the streets, because she was simply too polite and felt bad everytime she did take what was offered to her).

Her family had helped pursuade her to get a job in the first place - and the fact that she was basically broke also helped her realize that it was what needed to be done and she was so thankful for this. Just thankful that everything worked out in the long run.

Now she was coming home from a coffee shop on a Thursday morning and that didn't sound so bad, did it? Well, for Maka, she was just glad that she didn't have to walk in her flats that had already gave her blisters on her heels through crowds of people anymore. The fact that she had been alone without her best friend, Tsubaki (because Tsubaki had been out and about with her new boyfriend that Maka had yet to meet) was also very tiring.

And soon enough, there she was, sauntering into her bedroom with a bag being dropped on the floor while a few pens rolled their way out of the deep pouch. The dark purple patches below her eyes were very visible with a lack of makeup and sleep and her scraggly appearance made her look like a completely reckless, limp ragdoll. And she might as well have admitted it, too, seeing as it was sort of close to the truth.

With the phone still on, she moved it a little ways away from her mouth so she could yawn and brought it back to her ear, awaiting a reply. She also placed her french vanilla Starbucks coffee on her little nightstand to her right.

And just like Maka had anticipated, an excited and loud gasp came from the opposite line and she found herself smiling a little at how enthusiastic the person sounded. Since she was correct on the assumption that her parents - one of them was so far, at least - would be ecstatic, she felt a little tingle of pride in herself. Proud and happy parents were always a great thing to have, obviously.

While she waited for the person to say something, she also pushed the speaker button on her cell and gently set it down on her dresser. Picking up a brush that was placed in front of her no longer than five seconds ago, she laced it through her clean, slightly frizzy ash blonde hair.

"Your father and I _knew_ you would get this one," they - rather, her mother, Kami - exclaimed as she clapped her hands, giggling like a little school girl. You could practically hear the huge grin she sported on her face through her words. "We even bet against your sister - she didn't believe you would get it after all of the failed attempts before, though _we_ did. Once again, _we_ were spot on!" Pause. "I'm so, so happy for you, hunny."

The sound of feet tapping against cold, stone tiles was all that could be heard as Kami giddily laid a poster board across the kitchen table. As soon as it hit the wood, Maka's eyebrows raised in what you could maybe call amusement.

"Tell her I thank her for her encouraging and believing attitude," she dawdles, words covered and nicely coated with a thin layer of sarcasm. She let out a cheeky laugh. "And lay off the banners, would you?"

Last time Maka had gotten a fairly decent job at a local movie store for the first time after just moving into her own little dinky apartment, her family had decided to surprise her with a huge banner made up of poster board, glitter, markers and stickers that was hung up with string and placed with tape on the outside of Maka's apartment door. She was embarrassed to say the least, especially after getting some odd and amused looks from her neighbors and quite a few random bypassers.

Placing her gel brush back on her dresser, she absentmindedly parted her hair into two sections so they both rested on both sides of her head. The woman rolled her shoulders lightly to relieve some stress her body had been building up and, while grabbing her phone and coffee, walked over to her queen sized bed tiredly and finally climbed in under the cozy and warm covers.

Kami scoffs. "If I'm not aloud to create my own big, pretty banner for my daughter when she gets her first job in a _long time _to celebrate the news, then I don't know _what_ I'm aloud to do. Your father even offered to help, can ya believe that? He was very excited when I told him what was going down."

Maka 'hmm's in acknowledgement and snorts. Basically, it was her way of saying that she does, in fact, believe what her mother just told her. "Hasn't been busy all week, has he? Must be awfully bored with nothing to do, too. I can see him asking to help to fight off his boredom." She set her phone on her lap and took a sip of her coffee.

"Yes, well, it's still unlike him." A quiet hum escaped Kami's throat and she then sighed, changing the topic to something that had rolled off of her tongue, like she had been keeping the words locked up for quite some time. "You'll at least be recieving some money, right? Even if it doesn't end up paying as much as you'd like, you will still be able to survive on your own without any loans."

"I guess it depends what you mean by 'loans'," Maka said in between a long yawn.

"Family loans, bank loans. Whatever you had to do or get - that is what I mean."

_Hmph_. "Right, yeah. Pretty sure it's a decent paying job."

"That's what you told me last time ... hm, how many hours are you working then?"

"Part time on the weekends. So, five hours, I believe."

"Easy enough, hey? When do you start?"

"Tomorrow," she replied, carefully.

To be honest, Maka wasn't sure when she was supposed to come in - but her interviewer had promised that she would receive a call to let her in on the details later that day, so she just assumed she would have to go in by the next day. Which, she admits, made her kind of nervous. What if her boss didn't like her and wanted her to go find a new job because she was useless at everything? What if she started doing something and slipped up and something terrible happened? Oh, the embarrassment she would have to go through; she hoped she was just worrying too much over nothing, yet something inside of her kept telling her the opposite.

"And I think I go in at six o'clock in the evening, too, since I don't work mornings."

"Great! With this banner finished and ready along with the lot of what we have planned, our celebration for our sweetie pie will be the best ever!" the eager mom shrieked in glee with her realization that later when night came, they could have their celebration - most likely to be a movie marathon - with no worries about sleeping in.

"That's good to hear, Mum," said the newly dubbed 'sweetie pie' who laughed delightedly.

A short silence followed, but was interrupted when Kami spoke up, "Lend me a second, I need to spread the news to the soon to be disappointed girl that lost our bet and a slightly feminine man who will just be wailing in excitement within the time span of a couple of seconds."

A giggle escaped Maka's throat and she nodded, even if she knew no one could see her. "Okay!"

She heard some yelling and then a very familiar voice popped out of no where, happiness and absolutely no doubt in his words - her dad, Spirit's. Besides the other whiny voice complaining about losing a bet to her mom and dad and having nothing to pay them (clearly Liz, her adopted sister's), Maka could only focus on the glad tones of her very proud parents.

"Lord, I never once thought you wouldn't get this job. Never even crossed my mind. So proud of you, baby girl," came the deep and, well, just plain _proud_ voice that belonged to her dad, almost exploding with such fondness that he sounded like he was close to jumping up and down or peeing himself.

"Thanks, daddy. I love you ... and mom. Tell mom that I love her too, please." She sighed, suddenly feeling like she was about to doze off into a dreamy land where she could just simply relax. Her whole body ached with sore and tight muscles and the soft and plump mattress that lay beneath her was on a whole new level of comforting and it felt just _so good_.

"Yes, Maka. Anything for you. Oh and we love you too, in case you hadn't guessed that yet," Spirit teased as he smiled and the sound of rustling paper and cutting of scissors followed into the reciever. A mumble was heard, before a door was suddenly slammed shut with a thud. Spirit's breath hitched a bit into the phone.

"Liz wanted to let you know that she's very happy for you. I, uh ... I just think that maybe she's overwhelmed by the fact that she has to pay one hundred dollars prior to losing, so she kind of left the house... seems mean to me," he said, mumbling the last part quietly.

"You think everything that anyone says or does is mean," said an irritated Kami. "And Liz thinks everything that anyone says or does is annoying."

"Well let her know I said thanks," Maka blandly stated through a yawn. "Though, I'm awfully tired and a good rest sounds perfect right now. You guys finish up with your hard working skills of banner making, yeah?" she laughed, prepping her feather pillow before letting her head sink down into it. "My craftsmen parents."

Spirit laughs loudly. "You sound like you need it, baby. Your mother and I will keep in touch. Call us soon? We're close to being ready to celebrate!" The cheery tone and enthusiasm made Maka emit another chuckle before she bid her goodbye to her parents and they did the exact same.

Deciding to abandon her almost gone coffee, she set it down on the floor beside her bed and then slowly slid herself down farther into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Her bones ached and tension throughout her muscles hurt worse than hell.

For a 20 year old, she sure felt old and frail.

So Maka readjusted herself so she got comfortable and with one last sigh of relief and long lost relaxation, her eyes shut and her breathing slowly became quiet as she fell into a deep, new and unknown slumber.

...

After her very much needed nap, Maka awoke - mostly just jumped up in surprise and horror - when the noise of something falling flat off of the bed and onto the rugged looking hardwood floor erupted throughout the small room. In that moment, she swore her heart had literally just exploded out of her chest because of fright, plus she gets scared easily and tended to use exaggeration when she was. So with a hand covering her mouth, along with wide eyes and a rapid beating heart in her chest, she cautiously peered over the edge of her bed.

Relief soon washed over her when she noticed what had caused the sudden loud sound. A white running shoe; it looked worn out and dirty - only because of the holes and mud all over it. She breathed in, sucking a huge gulp of air in, almost like she was holding her breath before.

She contemplated getting up, too. Maybe go into the kitchen to get some dinner or a quick snack and then she could clean around the house a bit in case of any arrivals from family. It was unlikely, but she stuck to the thought because she saw it as a very helpful reminder that her house was a pigsty and definitely needed some picking up. And she should probably do _something_.

But with a shaking body and rugged breaths, she was sure that she wasn't going to be leaving her bed anytime soon until she managed to calm herself down a bit.

Her back plopped itself back on the mattress and her hands reached her eyes to wipe away the crud and sleepiness of being woken up. With an eventual groan, she grabbed at the phone and held it with a tight grasp, then went to dial her family's home number. As she placed a finger on the first number, an incoming call came and Maka, shocked and slightly alarmed, clicked 'accept'.

"H-hello?" she asked, voice wavering with curiosity and confusion. She cursed herself for sounding so weak - what if it was someone important? She worked to impress, you know.

"Ah, yes. Maka Albarn, is it? This is your new boss," came the cheerful tone of the man on the opposite line of Maka. She gasped at the rememberance of what the interviewer had told her; he had said that she should expect a call soon. She bit her lip and listened to him finish what he was saying. "My name is Death."

Maka gulped, throat suddenly feeling dry and sore. '_Death? What kind of name is that?_'

Despite her anxiousness, she replied easily - they got along very well and Maka even seemed to be a little excited to meet the man.

Death explained her working hours and days she would need to work - though she had already been sort of clear on both of these subjects, it was good to have it cleared up - and just like Maka had told her mother, she was to come in tomorrow evening.

"It was a pleasure to get to talk to you, Maka," Death had said happily. "I can practically hear the smile in your voice. Keep the attitude up."

"Thank you, sir. And yes, of course, I will try my hardest. I am looking forward to meeting you as well," she replied, biting the inside of her cheek in an attempt to keep her composure.

"I quite like you," he laughed. "Tomorrow we will actually meet, too. In my _office_." Maka's eyebrows raised. "I'm sure you'll be able to find the ticket booth."

All of a sudden, wild laughter erupted through the phone receiver and Maka found herself smirking at her new strange and loud boss.

"I see. Nice office, is it?" she teased, giggling a bit.

"A bit rugged and dirty, but beautiful otherwise," Death said, laughter decreasing with each breath he took. "You'll love it."

"Oh, I'm most positive I will, Boss."

_..._

_Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz ... bzzz, bzzz, bz-_

The alarm clock crashed to the floor as a tired Maka wacked it with her weak fist, earning a yelp from her mouth. She shot up in bed and bit her lip as she shook her hand silently, trying to rid of the pain.

"Had to hit it too hard didn't you, Maka?" she asked herself slowly, grunting.

Normally alarms like this don't wake Maka up. Probably to do with her sleeping patterns which are very messed up. But last night, her mom and dad and sister came over with other family members residing behind them. With a gigantic red poster in hand that said 'MAKA'S FREE' - which was probably regarding how she could do things on her own without the bank or her family's help, but it was still really, really stupid - in black marker, covered and coated in sparkles and shiny ferris wheels and ticket booth stickers everywhere, plus their cheesy grins showing off their teeth ... well, it made them look like a bunch of dolts.

They sauntered on in and Spirit, with duct tape in hand, taped the banner above the couch for all to see.

Once everyone settled in and plopped themselves down on Maka's furniture - which peeved her off, but decided to just ignore it for there was no way she could kick them out without feeling guilty - they asked her if she was excited to start her first day to which she answered with a shrug and a small smile.

You see, after they barged into her house without a warning, she wasn't in one of her bestest moods. This is one of the reasons that she had a cleaning frenzy the night before; knowing that sooner or later _anyone _could come right on in. After all, her mom and dad knew a lot of people and they had a spare key to her apartment.

Basically everyone just greeted one another and congratulated Maka, questioning things that she couldn't help but get annoyed at. Things relating to why she didn't simply find a better paying job because "it would be easier and more money is great" or "couldn't you have just given up and moved back in with your mom and dad? You're rather young to be doing this all on your own". Spirit jumped up and nodded his head furiously at this to which Kami rolled her eyes and tried to calm down her worked up husband and turned to glare at the person who had asked that.

The questions had aggravated Maka to the point where she literally got up and went to the bathroom to cool off, slamming the door shut and locking it in the process. Those were such ignorant comments, how did they expect her to answer them?

And eventually she did calm down a bit. So she came out and settled herself back on the sofa, ignoring the worried glances that she got and pretended she didn't hear any other dumb questions or comments.

They watched movies like Toy Story 3 and Shrek and drank shooters and wine until they were giddily laughing at nothing in particular. Maka excluded. She had work in the morning, for Pete's Sake. Yet that didn't stop her aunt and uncle from trying to get her to drink "at least _one_".

Late into the night, when the clock hit two in the morning, Maka yawned and said that she was _very _sleepy (they were lucky she even acknowledged they were still there - her drowsiness was making it hard for her to keep her eyes open) and everyone but Maka's parents left her apartment. Since they were barely intoxicated, considering they had like two shooters the whole night, they stopped Maka from going anywhere and asked something of her.

They apparently wanted to meet up the next day somewhere where they could chat over a cup of coffee. At last, they all settled on a coffee shop. She didn't question what was so important for them to have to talk over a beverage, because she was hopelessly close to falling asleep and she knew she would find out in the morning.

And that was why Maka had set her alarm for noon. She had promised her father that she wouldn't sleep in too late in case she missed her alarm when it went off later and then she would definitely have to worry about being late for her first day at work. God knows how she remembered to set it. Exhaustion tends to make Maka forget a lot of things.

So once she was up, she gave a little whine of protest that sounded identical to that of a toddler not having her way, and chose to have a shower, fearing that she was too dirty to leave her home.

She took the amazing, warm shower that had her close to melting when the water hit her sore muscles. She stepped out of the steamy hot bathroom and headed towards her closet to pick out a pair of clothes to wear for the day. She ended up choosing a pair of white denim shorts and a pink and grey striped tanktop. For her shoes, black TOMS with white crystal studs. Her hair was kept down, as straight as ever since she used her flat iron and then finally applied coverup and mascara.

She wasn't too keen on makeup, so she only used so much.

With one last gaze in the mirror at her reflection, she picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder, heading out the door. She locked it, of course.

...

Nothing important was spoke of during their visit. Kami ordered a box of assorted donuts to share with everybody and an Iced Coffee for herself. Maka had ordered an Iced Capp with whipped cream and caramel drizzle (which Kami criticized, saying that Maka would get a cavity if this was what kind of things she drank) while Spirit got an ordinary black coffee.

Maka supposed that her mother and father just wanted to catch up on some things. And overall, it was a nice visit. Maka quite liked it. But it was all interrupted when her phone all of a sudden went off - Marimba (she honestly needed a new ringtone, she hated it at the moment) blasting through her speakers at a high volume.

"Uh... yes? Hello?" she asked as she brought her cell up to her ear. She didn't check the caller I.D. because she didn't exactly think about doing that until she had hit the green 'accept' button on the screen.

"I'm sorry, Maka. But I need to ask a favor of you. Is that alright?"

It was a very familiar voice and Maka recognized it as Death's.

Oh, Lord.

"Y-yes! Of course, Boss!" she stuttered, looking uneasy and nervous.

Her parents sent looks toward one another and watched and listened to her intently. They were rather bemused in the situation, not understanding what her boss could possibly want. She didn't work this early.

And just like that, their questions were answered when Maka fumbled with a strand of hair from her bangs. "No, I- I can most certainly - ah, yes. I'll be there soon." End of call.

She sent a look to her parents and sighed, "Got to get to work."

"We - we thought you didn't have to go until six o'clock," Spirit interfered, bewildered. His eyebrows were furrowed, leaving creases resembling wrinkles on his forehead.

"Yeah. I did too," Maka mumbled. "But something happened, I think, and they need someone else there. So I offered to do it."

"Okay. As long as you drive safe..." her mother answered worriedly. "Be careful there, baby."

A smile tugged its way onto the woman's lips and turned into a full blown grin. "Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. You should be wishing me luck, not troubling yourself about my safety. I'll be good."

"You're my daughter, Maka, of course I'm going to be concerned about whether or not you'll get there alive. You aren't the safest driver, y'know." She said this with a slight smirk and Maka chuckled lightly before she hugged both of her parents.

She sped out of that door, bells jingling, faster than a lightning bolt.

She took out her keys and pressed a button, a honking sound audible - then she walks over to the car and hops in.

Maka was really, really anxious. Yet excited for the first time in a long while.

...

When she got on the amusement park grounds ... well, she had no idea where to go. The park was just _enormous _and she frantically began searching for a ticket booth, but couldn't find one in sight yet. It was like hide and seek and Maka didn't like it one bit.

The scowl on her face helped prove that much.

The people around her were pushing and running past her, some gently and some not. Some on purpose, some not caring and some on complete accident. And frankly, it was beginning to anger her.

"Wish people would flippin' move," she growled.

Her eyes scanned the scenery in front of her, searching for any sign of a booth that selled tickets. A glowing sign - which probably wouldn't light up yet since it was still daylight - stuck out to her and in eagerness, she began walking in fast paced strides toward the sign.

When she reached it, her feet twisted, digging into the dirt. '_This is most definitely the ticket booth, but where the hell's my boss?_'

"Hello," she said, noticing the lack of people in line there, "is Death near? Hello?" She pushed herself up onto the little block of cement that is in front of the red booth, using her arms that were prepped up on top of the plastic lining where the hole was. And when she looked through the transparent plastic - which was _super _dirty, she noted with an expression of disgust - she saw a moving figure.

"Indeed, he has wandered off, miss," came the figures voice ... obviously male.

Her brows raised upward. "Do you know where?" she asked hopefully.

"Sorry," the guy shrugged, still not facing her. He seemed to be looking at something - then the object lit up blue in the dark booth and Maka realized he was on his phone.

"Right." She clicked her tongue. "Did you know he called me here?"

A laugh came from the male and then he scratched the back of his head, "I don't think so." He rubbed the palms of his hands on his dark navy jeans. "Do you know _why _Death called you here?"

"No, I shouldn't be here until six."

"Hm," the boy said, "And he just ran his big ass all the way down to the exit. Know why?"

His tone was teasing, but Maka was oblivious.

"How should I know why?" she asked, slightly irked.

"I dunno. You seem like the type people would run away from."

She could _hear _the smirk in his voice. "Excuse me?"

"Thought you'd catch on. It's nothing." He licked his lips. "What's your name?"

"What's _yours_, Mr. Mysterious?" Maka poked fun at him as she bit her nail.

"Ah..." he trailed off, "Slenderman. Creature of the woods."

"Liar."

A snicker can be heard and then - "How would you know? Can't possibly see me, can you?"

"You sound like no Slenderman would."

"So he has a specific sounding voice, does he?" the guy prods, smiling a little, white hair cascading over his eyes very briefly. "You've done your research."

She couldn't help it; she bursted into bubbling laughter. The loud sound of her guffawing made the unknown man shake his head in amusement. Through breathy laughs, she responded, "Everyone knows he doesn't have the ability to talk."

"I never," the male joked. "Not everyone is as intellectual as you are."

"Aren't you charming!" she voiced, biting her lip. "Now come on and turn around for me, boy."

'_She's very ... endearing_,' he thought, pursing his lips to try and hide his mirth. Instead of saying this out in the open, he went, "Nah. Don't think so."

"Fine, but at least tell me your name," she reasoned. "Mine's Maka."

"... Soul." Pause. "You have a reason for being here, don't you? Shoo, miss, you've been excused."

Her face falls. "You want me to leave?"

He twists his head slightly, enough for her to see his mouth pull into a smile. "There's no chatting on the job."

"I don't even know where I should be!"

"When Death calls stating there is an emergency, it usually means you're to be taking over someone's place," he exclaimed somewhat numbly.

Soul grabbed the door handle from the inside and pushed it open. He walked down the steps, until his feet collided with the ground. And, without hesitation, turned and sauntered over to the girl in front of him. He raised his pointer finger, smirked, and then put his hands behind his back.

Maka, still surprised, let out a tiny breath. "You're no Slenderman."

His red eyes gleamed with undisclosed familiarity, "I could be yours."

_..._

_I really don't know where this came from but_

_thanks for reading and please review to let me know if i should continue, thanks guys x_


	2. Chapter 2

_here's a second chapter for you all.. it's great to see i have people enjoying my fic xx_

...

The timer went off suddenly, emitting ear splitting din, which caught Maka off guard. Her body twitched, accidentally giving her elbow access to a cold cup of coffee, and it certainly did knock over and crack. To Soul's dismay, it was Death's leftover coffee - full, too, he saw - that sported two sugar cubes and a teaspoon of cream which would then be _his _priority to clean up; because there was no way in hell he would simply allow the new girl to get a stupid strike on her first day there. Sure, Death would probably have to succumb to wacking Soul across the head, but at least it wouldn't be Maka that dealt with his immoderate behavior. So, in a flash, (and within a second of Maka blinking) Soul leapt up from his spot in the black leather and spinning chair to tend to the mess recently caused.

The darn alarm that started ringing an inconsiderable time ago was showing no signs of giving up its annoying dinging, unfortunately. And, yes, Maka was pretty sure she had shut it off. With a roll of her eyes, she took it in her delicate hands and ripped out the charging cord that she'd plugged in a few minutes prior. Her reasoning was that it irritated her enough (unneccessarily) and so it should either turn off or die. And die it did. But, for Soul, things weren't going very smoothly because, not to mention, the roll of paper towel he got from the little drawer to his left had hardly any material left to it, leaving the littlest bit for him to wipe up the coffee; dealing with the strong scent of unnewly brewed beverages was not on his list of things to do that day.

All because of a timer _for Maka_.

Her training began after the flirty comment Soul made - earning him a flush on her cheeks in return - and he told her she had to be in tip top shape for the job. Not in the sense of _exercise exercise exercise_, oh no, but the fact that she had absolutely no idea what to do or where things were in that waking moment didn't yet qualify for working alone. Therefore, Soul challenged her; if she could come close to faultlessly handing out tickets, he would move on with the steps of training her and, in the end, would have her knowingly ready. And he put fifteen minutes into the alarm that rested near a plastic packet of blue and red pens, telling her that she knew what she needed to do.

But Maka, due to her overly curt attitude, had quite a load of difficulty with the task at hand. Soul wasn't positive, but at one point he thought he heard her tell a customer that their hair resembled a skunk's. Negative inclination would not be tolerated (read: Death's terrible temper) so in reality, he only saved Maka's ass by walking up, apologizing for any possible blunt remarks made by the new girl, and taking over her position then and there. Frankly Maka was peeved, hence her heavy scowl and tense posture. Soul just brushed it off.

Now, Soul had a coffee soaked hand and Maka's got a dry elbow but a blush stained on her face in realization that her trainer was slightly miffed because of her. Despite knowing it may pique him more, she spoke up with a mumble, "Need a handcloth?"

The boy's hand stopped its movement and afterward squeezed the moist paper ball in his hand, fluid flowing back into place where he'd just mopped it up. He dropped it there, flicking his hand to shake away traces of the liquid before turning his body around. Soul's hands rested behind his back, on the table top, as he stared at Maka thoughtfully. But the girl still wasn't sure if she had managed to irk him again, since his expression was that of a blank mask. His eyes wandered all over her face, resulting in her squirming, before his chapped, pink lips parted. Leaving his mouth faintly ajar, he used his fingers to tap the table behind him. Eventually his mouth opened a decent amount and Maka believed he was about to respond.

"That would be nonessential."

His words struck her and her nostrils flared as she breathed through her nose. "Listen, Soul, I came here for a job - wait - a _good _job and this definitely seems easy enough for me to handle and, yeah, I do like it here! But I'm obviously going to mess up on my first day and because of all of my mistakes, I offered to do something out of the kindness of my heart. Though, what happens? You say it's 'nonessential'. And if you can't either take up my offer or _say thank you_, then I don't even... I-" she faltered, eyes hard.

He scoffed in amusement, failing to hide his oncoming smile. "Relax, I just don't want you doing all of the hard work around here. I can do that myself." He stopped and then added, "Thanks for your offer, by the way."

"You're such a charming twat," Maka said, lips pursed in exasperation.

"Awe, don't pout," he teased, nudging her shoulder with his own. "Smile! It's your first day."

Blowing breath out of her nose, she shrugs, "Don't feel like it."

And Soul sighed. He pushed himself past the girl, rummaging through drawer after drawer to find any type of absorbant cloth. All Maka did was watch with her arms crossed. And when he found a dirty one hidden underneath an old and ratted coat, he internally cheered. "Found one, new girl!" he shouted whilst beaming, despite the fact that they were barely one foot away. But the grin dropped from his face when he noticed the line of people waiting impatiently at the front of the booth. With widened eyes, he pointed to the see through plastic, "God, _go_ _give them tickets_. And keep your rude comments to yourself, would you?"

"Who are you, my dad?" she rolled her eyes, getting a stern look from Soul. "Alright, whatever, you go wipe up that mess while I do my own thing. Just hurry, it's giving me a headache."

"Yes, m'lady," Soul laughed.

...

After Soul had cleaned the spilled coffee up, discarded the broken shards and remains of the cup, and sprayed febreze to get rid of the stench accumulating in the air, he plopped himself in the leather chair.

Spotting a wrapped lollipop on the surface opposite of him, he leaned forward and snatched it, discarding the wrapper. "How many more kids are left in line?" he questioned Maka, genuine curiosity flashing in his eyes.

She watched him place the candy stick in his mouth. "None at the moment. The most recent ones weren't kids either." The guy across from her nodded, slurping sounds hearable. "I can smell grape from here, you know," she said out of the blue, letting a quiet laugh fill the booth.

"I sort of have an obsession with lollipops," Soul admitted with a smirk. "I remember going over to my neighbors house when they invited us in and I would always steal theirs. They blamed it on their six year old girl."

Maka bit her lip, smile evident. "Your birthday anytime soon, Soul?"

"Why? Gonna go shopping and then buy me some heart shaped ones?"

"Possibly. If you minus the heart shaped part." She giggled, gazing at him with slow blinks. "So, can you tell me?"

"Birthdays are very personal," he joked, staring at his hands with a small grin. His hair covered his eyes and whole forehead making only his mouth visible. She just raised an eyebrow. "February 14th. It's long gone."

Her green eyes turned soft when she said, "You're a Valentines boy, are you? That why you brought up heart shaped lollipops?"

"See? You're very intellectual."

"I didn't get straight A's," she furrowed her eyebrows. "Does that blow your whole theory out of the water?"

Instead of agreeing, Soul just shook his head gently. "Doesn't mean anything, so take the damn compliment, new girl." A chuckle can be heard.

Wiping her mouth in an attempt of removing the stickiness in the corners of her mouth from her Iced Capp that she drank earlier, she exhaled and then bit her fingernail, looking at Soul, mused.

"I didn't think you would ever irritate me as much as you did today," she began, ignoring Soul's open mouthed protests, "Not that you're fully irritating. You lean more towards the likeable yet annoying coworker rather than the full-time annoying coworker. _That's_ a good thing."

Bemused, Soul goes, "It is?"

"You're only part time annoying. That's better than being constantly annoying, don't you think?"

"You're strangely odd, don't _you _think?"

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all."

...

Death never did show up.

So as time flied by, the fresh and chilly air flowing through the nostrils of those occupying the ticket booth, followed by the smells of fried donuts and other types of food, sounds of screaming and curses as well, were making both Soul and Maka want to leave.

"Is he never going to appear?" Maka asked, frowning.

"Usually he leaves a friggin' note or something to tell me what's going on."

"But this time he didn't..." Maka finished for him.

"Yeah, basically."

"Are you the only person who works in the booth? Not including the Boss."

The white haired boy rubs his hands together to create friction because of the surrounding cold air. "No. The guy, Kid, works mornings - lucky guy 'cause of hardly any commotion - so he was here before. The only other person that works here is Black*Star, but, unfortunately, today he was sick."

"Oh," she replied, realization dawning on her. "And you're filling in for him."

Soul nodded. "And, of course, he works until midnight. So since my working hours are from noon 'til six, I normally work six hours. Tonight, though, I have to work twelve, because Death disappeared to hell knows where." He scratched the back of his head. "Now you're here and I guess you'll be working with Black*Star."

Maka scowled, "Is he a good guy?"

"Quite cocky and, uh, loud. Takes some time getting used to, but all in all, yeah, I'd say he's alright."

"I'll probably end up bringing Tylenol to work to deal with headaches everyday," Maka laughed jokingly.

Soul raised his eyebrows, wiggled them a bit and then leaned down to pick up a bag hidden under the table to the right. He unzipped it and pulled out a bottle of said medication with a laugh and then set it on the ledge near the front of the booth. "I've got some in case you're in agonizing need."

"You're a God, I swear." Pause. "I quite like you, Soul."

"'Cause I gave you free Tylenol?" Smirk.

"No." She rolled her green eyes. "You're just ... a great guy."

"Greater than you expected?"

"You did tell me you were Slenderman of all people, Soul."

"So? It was funny."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"But you _laughed_!"

"You're lying to yourself now, Soul, and you're actually starting to believe yourself."

She _tsk tsk_'ed and gave him a lighthearted smile. He returned it, all the while muttering, "Bigot."

...

Maka fell asleep, leaving Soul to deal with the people lining up for tickets the rest of the night. But just as Soul finished with the last customer of the night, Maka awoke.

"When are we finishing training?" Maka wondered in the form of a tiny mumble. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes," he agreed. He opened the door on the side of the ticket booth, grabbing Maka's hand in the process, and pulled her up towards the door with him. "Now go home, it's nearing midnight."

His grin showed his teeth, white and shining in the moonlight. Their sharp edges resembled that of a werewolf, almost.

"Don't wanna turn tonight?" she lazily asked, stretching her petite body.

"What?"

For the last time that night, she giggled girlishly and started walking down the steps, then onto the ground. The cold air hit her and she had the sudden need for a blanket, but before Soul could protest about her going out there coatless, she had run off, screaming, "Goodnight, Soul" in the distance.

He did grab a coat, but by the time he got back outside, she was gone.

_..._

_the ending sort of seems like a cliche love story lol_

_next chapter i'll introduce the other guys but this was sort of just a beginning of um the training shit.. plus death'll come back ha_

_whaddya think guys? x_


	3. Chapter 3

_i actually have tried to write for the past hour but bonnie tylers music has me hooked and distracted lol the old fashioned side of me is coming back.. but the chapters written now so here my lovelies_

...

Maka had gotten home with the soles of her feet aching. She guessed that it was to do with how she had to throw away her shoes when running toward the exit, because the rocks succeeded in somehow tearing them in the front and on her heels, so, yes, she was barefoot for a long time. And by a long time I mean an hour or so of hopping about on the gravelly ground, waiting for a darn taxi to show up.

'_This is ridiculous_,' she'd thought in a tedious tone.

Eventually, when it did show up, she told him her address and all that was required to get home and then paid him a twenty that she'd found on the table at work. She assumed it was most likely Soul's, but her logic was that he wouldn't miss it. All she hoped for was that it wasn't her boss'.

After entering the door to her apartment, she made herself a cup of Earl Grey tea with milk and settled down on the couch in front of the T.V. Her body spread out as she laid on her back, cup of tea on her chest, sleepy eyes closing briefly in relaxation when she would take a sip of the steaming beverage. She was watching a comedy sitcom that Tsubaki had mentioned one time to her that she forgot about, but coincidentally it had been the only thing on at the time, so she chose to stick around and watch it. To her surprise, it actually _was _as hilarious as her friend said.

As a result of the show keeping her awake, she decided to text said friend.

'_I have good news :)_' Maka sent.

And in reply, she got, '_did you finally lose the v card?_'

She rolled her eyes, blushing red, '_No.. but i got a job somewhere and I like it a lot if I'm honest_'.

'_i was literally excited for you but then you said no_.'

Before Maka got a chance to say anything sarcastic, another text came in.

'_do you like the job because you met someone or are you seriously and genuinely enjoying work_'

Her blush that was beginning to fade away came back and she coughed uncomfortably. Staring at her phone, not sure what to say, Maka suddenly regretted sending the girl any message in the first place. But, instead of dwelling on it, thought for a while and settled on sending the first thing that came to her mind.

'_I can't deny that I like the job.'_

Tsubaki, on the other hand wouldn't give up. '_youre acting weird. i think you met someone and you dont wanna admit it_.'

For the rest of that night, Maka stared up at her ceiling with fire-red cheeks, ignoring the incoming texts she received.

...

"I don't appreciate you ignoring me," Tsubaki spoke indignantly, smiling despite the tone of voice she sported.

The two women were walking down a street towards a coffee stand at the end of it. Really only because Maka got woken up and dragged out her door by Tsubaki once eleven in the morning hit. If Maka had her choice, she wouldn't have been there at all.

Suddenly a gruff man in a black suit with a blue undershirt, bland grey eyes and auburn hair highlighted with blonde streaks stood in front of them and grinned crookedly, gazing at Tsubaki. For some reason it didn't faze her, until he went to touch her shoulder as he said, "Would a pretty girl like _you_ want to come home with a guy like _me_?" And as soon as the words registered in her mind, she narrowed her eyes.

"Gross. You're, like, my dad's age."

The guy looked taken back and as if he was ready to slap her across the face; his eyes widened and his nostrils flared.

Maka intervened, "Exactly how old _are _you?"

Eyes still like slits, he responded, "That's absolutely none of your business."

"Then we will be leaving," she smiled, taking Tsubaki's hand in her own. But, of course, the man didn't let up.

"I should have known you were two dykes," he mumbled bitterly, turning around. He started speed walking with his arms crossed.

The girls both sighed in annoyance.

Honestly, Maka didn't find the flirting with Tsubaki part uncommon or odd. After all, she was a beautiful woman and, in her opinion, way prettier than _she_ had _ever _been. Numerous boyfriends Maka dated went after Tsubaki once they'd met her anyway. She assumed that it was her royal blue eyes that shined that attracted the boys to her; they truly looked like the ocean at midnight. Or maybe she was wrong and they liked her for her long, silky black hair she always put up into a high ponytail. With her slim figure, skin that was as soft as a feather and incredible legs (it's just an obvious fact) none of that really mattered in the long run.

Since Maka was usually with Tsubaki, she hardly got the attention.

"Anyway," Tsubaki started as they reach the stand, "'cause you didn't answer me last night, I want the truth right about now." She twisted her head and beamed at the person behind the stand.

"Hello," the employee stared at Tsubaki, "What would you like today, Miss?"

"Medium Iced Americano with a small shot of milk, please," she said as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

"And you?" he questioned, looking at Maka with a friendly smirk.

"Just a Caramel Macchiato, thanks."

Nodding, he wrote down her order, but then glanced at her again. "Do you want a pump of vanilla?"

"Please," she smiled.

As they stood there, waiting, Tsubaki looked expectantly at Maka. Her eyebrow raised and her lips twisted, resting in the left corner of her mouth. Unfortunately for Maka, she knew that her friend would never give up until she got a sufficient answer. So, she exhaled lightly and scratched her arm, feeling unsettled under the piercing stare.

Her mouth opened. "I didn't meet anybody special."

Tsubaki took hold of the girl's shoulders, shaking her small frame with a huge grin. "Not _yet_. And obviously there's somebody that you at least talked to if you work at an amusement park. So just spill it all to me!"

"Listen," she said in a calm voice, trying to get Tsubaki to shut up for a second. "I spent the day with a coworker, alright? There's really nothing else to say or add."

Shrieking, the woman exclaimed loudly, "I knew it! You did meet somebody! Who was it? A girl or a guy?"

'_Oh Lord_,' Maka thought with a roll of her eyes. "He's_ just_ a coworker."

"He? Ah, it's a guy, is it? Maka, what's he look like?" Dreamily, the girl smiled but a frown replaced it within a second. "Don't tell me he's unattractive."

A scoff came out of her lips as she looked at the black-haired girl. "No, he's not. And it wouldn't matter if he was anyway."

Not realizing that she sounded defensive, she picked up her drink as the man set both her and the other woman's drinks on the counter in front of them all. Tsubaki took hers with a smile and bid a 'thank you' to him, but then watched the other girl suspiciously.

"Thanks," Maka chirped, taking a sip from her plastic straw. He simply smiled back, waving as they walked out of line.

"So," Tsubaki said. "Do you like this _coworker _or something?"

Almost choking on her drink, Maka spluttered, "No!"

Her friend laughed at her expression, bending over while slapping her knees. Maka, not seeing what was so funny, began walking ahead with a nonchalant expression (plus a shade of pink was on her cheeks). She was walking back toward her apartment, even if it was the long way there. Her legs were definitely going to give out - she tumbled over her own feet a few times already - and she wanted to go back to sleep, because, after all, she was up very late the previous night. But, hearing footsteps coming after her, she sighed and stopped to help her best friend catch up.

"You're a menace," she told the black-haired girl with a frown and shut eyes.

While Maka couldn't see anything, Tsubaki was thinking hard and it was clear on her features, so she wasn't expecting her to ask her anything.

Innocently, Tsubaki went, "Can we go to the park?"

Just as Maka went to take a step, she got caught off guard and stopped midway. As if in a trance, her foot stayed in the air and her shoulders tensed. Turning her neck - which resembled the twisting of a screwdriver, mind you - she cocked her head to the side.

"The little kiddies park? Why would you want to go there?"

Sighing, she shook her head. "Not that one, Maka."

"The one near my apartment building?"

"No." Exhale. "The amusement park you work at."

And with that, Maka turned around in an attempt to run away. Tsubaki caught her, though.

...

The girls were sauntering toward a big line-up for the ride Twister Mayhem (right after finishing and throwing away their drinks) that didn't even look _fun_. It looked horribly frightening to Maka and she was reluctant to go on it, but Tsubaki kept on persuading her.

"Oh, you'll be okay, Maka. It'll only spin you around a bit, throw you upside down and the wind'll pull your shirt up above your head for all to see but you'll totally be okay," Maka mocked, scowling heavily.

Tsubaki thought she heard someone speak and turned to her friend. "Did you say anything?"

"Nada," she denied and shook her head.

Just when they were about to walk through the mini gate that lead to the ride, the operator of it held his hand out before they passed. "Are you two a pair?"

"Yes," Tsubaki stated, confusion evident on her face.

"Well I'm sorry but your friend here," he pointed at Maka, "isn't tall enough to get on this ride."

Maka's jaw dropped. "I'm not that short!"

"You're under 168cm."

"By one foot!" she argued, irritated. "Whatever, I'll go sit down." She waved her hand as a way of brushing it off and then turned to Tsubaki. "Hey, you ride on it, yeah?"

"I don't want to go on it without you!" the girl protested, eyes wide.

"I'll get a slush for us both and you can have it when you get off the ride, 'kay? You'll see me at that bench over there by the slushie stand."

And she ran like the wind before the other girl could catch her arm. But when she was a far enough in the distance and she could look back and see her getting on a seat attached to the ride, she slowed down. Laughing for an unknown reason, Maka walked toward the stand with a silly smile on her face.

"Hi," she said without looking at the girl behind the stand, just at the menu above both of their heads, "Can I have a ... Strawberry Kiwi slushie and then another Lime one? Thanks."

While the girl prepared her drinks, she tapped her foot and glanced around. Blue hair stood out to her. '_Who even has blue hair nowadays_?' she thought incredulously.

Just then, the cold drinks were handed to her and she smiled in satisfaction. "Thanks again."

She started walking toward the bench.

/./

"YAHOO!"

The scream startled Maka, as it was completely unexpected, which made her jump and spill the frosty beverage on her shirt. Almost every other person ignored it like it was a normal occurence - really, it was, but Maka had no clue about that. In anger, she messily wiped the slush off of her shirt (which left a dark stain, much to Maka's dismay) and then pinched the bridge of her nose as she lumbered to the bench.

"Great," she grumbled as she plopped herself down. "Just great."

Within a second, a flash of black and blue swept past her. Her eyes blinked, trying to comprehend if anything _did _pass by her or if her vision was slowly vitiating. Maka looked both left and right, searching for any sign that she wasn't going blind, but to no avail, saw nothing. So, to let time pass as Tsubaki took forever on that damn ride, she bent her head back and closed her eyes, breathing in the fresh air.

Except that didn't last long as she felt breathing on her face, and popped open her eyes to see a figure leaning over her. Not only could she not scream because her lips got covered by a hand bigger than life itself, she couldn't move either while this dude's hand kept her in place. And no one was even helping her! I mean, she's not a damsel in distress, but if you see a girl being held hostage - as Maka would say - by a guy with a star tattoo and weird attire (don't forget to mention fire blue hair!) wouldn't you think to at least _help _her?

"Don't speak," the guy said, surprising the girl with his high-pitched voice. "I'm only here because you fit the description my friend gave me earlier."

He lifted his hand off of her mouth and, thankfully, she kept quiet.

"Description about what exactly?" she squeaked.

"A girl ... DUH."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she goes, "No need to be a dick about it."

With fiery eyes, he looked straight at her in disgust. "How dare you speak to _me _of _all the people in the world_ that way!" he cried, eyes narrowed into slits.

"Who are you, King Almighty?"

He stepped back from her in confusion. "You know me?" Pause. "Of course you know who I am! You're a peasant of this world while I rule over you. I'm bound to be famous!"

She stared. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"As a matter of _FACT _I'm not," he huffed. Then he took in her appearance. "You're wet."

"Yeah, because your God awful shouting took me by shock!"

"Excuse me? Have we not gone over this? You must never speak to me that way, underling!"

"Oh, I'm so _sorry_, how may I ever repay for my goddamn sins?"

"Don't say my name in vain!"

"Goddammit, how improper. I apologize."

The boy shook, trying to contain his anger. He ground his teeth together. "You can't possibly be who he was talking about."

This made Maka lose track of what they were going on about in their earlier quarrel. "Who's this 'he'?"

He mumbled, "I'm not telling you."

'_How immature_," Maka thought. "You said that it was your friend earlier."

He pouted, staring at her from the corners of his eyes, "Yes."

"That all you're gonna tell me?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow. When he nodded, she sighed. "What's your stupid name?"

"What makes you think it's stupid, fool?" he asked, sticking his nose up in the air like he was superior to the human race (which he basically thought anyway).

"_This is you we're talking about_," she said in her mind, biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud. "It's not hard. Just tell me your name." She took a sip of her drink and swallowed.

"My name is Black*Star, otherwise known as the next God."

Maka's mouth suddenly felt dry and her throat closed off, making her cough and cough and cough. When she finally felt like she could breathe, she got out, "And you're the one who works here?"

He narrowed his eyes, "What of it?"

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"This is absolutely horrible. _You're _who he was talking about; loud and annoying. Then the whole Tylenol thing came up and - Jesus Christ," she babbled, clawing at her face.

"What are you smoking?" he questioned skeptically, actually worried for her. "You need professional help."

"Oh, I'm the one that needs professional help!" She stopped for a moment, thinking and then it clicked in her brain. "Is Soul the friend you brought up?"

Clapping his hands, he smirked falsely. "Bravo, you're so very smart."

She rolled her eyes. "Is he here with you?"

"No," he commented in a distasteful way, "Why? Do you want to snatch him and kidnap him or something?"

"What? No!" Maka said in utter disbelief. "You're such an idiot! I sort of ... kind of have to work with the guy."

He whimpered. "Don't tell me you're the new girl."

"Is it not obvious?"

And, then finding out his thoughts were true, he melted into a puddle of goo on the ground. By-passers that would nearly step on him had freaked out expressions and ran as far away as they possibly could. Maka was just watching him, irritated and unbelieving that this was who she would have to work with. Then she remembered something, '_Where's Tsubaki_?'

She was going to get up and look for her when she saw said girl sprinting hurriedly toward her. It was in a weird frenzy that received odd expressions from those around her, but she chose to ignore them all as she started rushing towards Maka with a faster speed than before. As she got closer and closer, Maka could see worry etched on her features for some unexplained reason. It provoked a reaction out of her and she wanted to know why the other girl was displaying such confusing emotions.

"Maka! Maka!" she heard come from the girl's mouth.

"Yeah? Everything okay?"

"No! There's a puddle of goop surrounding you!"

She looked down and saw what she meant. "That's just Black*Star."

Tsubaki looked bemused. "Is that your coworker?"

"Actually, yes."

A smirk, despite herself, appeared on the tall girl's face. "Blue hair?"

Realizing that she had given the wrong idea to her friend, she quickly swooshed her hands around herself, desperately trying to get the misinterpreted idea out of her head. She wasn't being very effective, though, because the body language only made her look like a person having an episode of some sort.

"That's sick, Tsubaki!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she said, lips quivering in turmoil.

"He's not the same guy I was talking about, okay? Two completely different dudes, they are!"

The black-haired girl blinked, looking around the area and then bit her thumb, "My mistake."

Maka slapped her forehead. "It's fine. Now help me get this piece of lard off of me, please and thanks."

...

When Black*Star went back to being a normal human being, it became slightly awkward. Probably for the reason that the three of them were sitting on the bench near a slushie stand, Tsubaki's slushie melted into flavored water, Maka's finished and in the trash and Black*Star never had one to begin with (which he complained about, asking if anybody would buy him one to which both the girls refused) and they had absolutely nothing to do. Sensing that Tsubaki had a crush on the idiot blue haired boy - spiky, too, like he must use gel or something - Maka had tried to leave the two of them alone but got pushed back down and basically held captive.

The lack of conversation gave the air a tense atmosphere. Black*Star continuously squirmed, getting on Maka's nerves, and each time he would she would smack his head, so it wasn't exactly a friendly atmosphere either. Well, if you didn't want to leave in the looks that Tsubaki kept giving the guy to her right, then it was not. If you did, that's up to you and certainly your choice.

Tsubaki went to take a sip of her drink and when she did, it flowed up through her straw and spilled all over her pant legs.

"It's cracked," Black*Star observed.

So as the girl went to wipe it off with a napkin she found in her pocket - why she had a napkin was beyond anybody's thinking level - Black*Star gawked at her like she was a prized possession or something and honestly, it made Maka uncomfortable.

"Don't you have a boyfriend, Tsubaki?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. If she said she didn't say that to also get a reaction out of the blue haired boy then she would be lying.

And it did. Out of both of the people beside Maka, actually.

"Not anymore. We broke up a long time ago."

"When is a long time ago to you, Tsubaki,_ hmm_?"

"...Like six months ago."

That shut her up.

The tension rose and you could, as weird as it sounds, just take a blade and snip right through it. And as every second passed, it seemed to make Maka uneasier. Her body was tingling, because she had the urge to blurt out another question, but she didn't want to end up yelling at the idiot that her best friend seemed to have a crush on. Unfortunately, her mouth opened and she realized that she was going to say something whether she or anybody else liked it in the long run.

She closed her mouth again and then pursed her lips before going, "What did Soul describe about me?"

Booming laughter filled the air; it was obviously coming from the one and only idiot of the threesome and it annoyed her to the core. Each and every fiber of her being was going to set ablaze if he didn't shut his mouth within a second.

'_Why did I even mention it_?' she asked herself, honestly hating that moment in time.

"Do you like him or something?" More laughter.

"Stop assuming things or I'll literally make you regret it," she grumbled under her breath, trying not to tear out any of her hair.

"Whatever." He stopped laughing and looked at her seriously. "He just described how you look and that he liked you. Assuming he was talking about you, that is. Probably not, though, because I highly doubt my best bud would lower himself to someone like _you_." He laughed again.

Tsubaki growled at him. "Don't talk about her that way."

To her shock, she made him cower. '_Maybe I'm his weakness_," she thought to herself with pride.

"God, you're such a douche," Maka sneered.

"Thank you for addressing me as such."

"Shut your mouth, Star."

"Kid's going to hate you with a passion."

A thought came into Tsubaki's mind, disregarding the comments made by the fellow people beside her, "Wait, who's Soul?"

"My friend," Black*Star goes, not looking her in the eyes and then he snickered, "And Maka's lover."

Choosing to ignore his dickish comment, Maka inhaled and counted to ten to calm herself down before she ended up kicking him in the balls. When she was certain that she wouldn't, she smiled at the boy.

"Or maybe it's the other way around." She covered his mouth as he looked discomforted and was going to shout at her. "What time is it, Tsubaki?"

"Um," the girl began, "twelve seventeen."

And Maka got up, ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" Black*Star crossed his arms. "Going to see Soul knowing that his working hours started already?"

She smiled. "None of your little boy business."

...

"How unsymmetrical can you get?"

It was a voice that was coming through a recorder or something. '_Sounds like a recorded video coming through a phone_,' Maka mused.

Maka smiled as she saw a head of white hair. "Hey, there. Whatcha' up to?" She rested her arms on the plastic part of the ticket booth.

The video pauses as the boy turned around and faced the all too familiar face. Red eyes flashed with surprise. "Maka." He rubbed the palms of his sweaty hands on his trousers. "I was just showing Death this funny, uh, clip."

"Yeah?" He nodded. "Well can I see it?"

He nodded again, this time super quickly and scratched the back of his neck nervously when he handed his phone to her. She pressed play and watched as a boy with white stripes on one side of his head, a black outfit and sharp golden eyes appeared on the screen. He was outside somewhere downtown, she guessed, probably walking to work - since it looked like the path she took when she was going there. The guy was complaining about an artwork piece that they'd seen at the museum and how it was unsymmetrical.

Truthfully, it had her clutching her stomach from laughing so hard.

Soul smiled. "So I see you liked it?"

"He's an imbecile," Death sighed. "His OCD is uncontrollably hilarious, though."

Before, Maka wouldn't have noticed her boss. But now that he was talking, he was as noticeable as ever. He looked a lot like the guy in the video and Maka was assuming that they were somehow related. The only difference between them was that Death had stripes on both sides of his head and a wider, taller stance.

She beamed. "It's nice to meet you finally, sir."

He returned the gesture, "As am I, young woman." He paused. "I take it you and Soul are somewhat acquainted, then."

"Yeah," Soul smirked. "I know her. We had a long conversation yesterday, right, Maka?"

Smiling bashfully, she nodded. "Yeah."

"Well don't you two make a cute little couple."

Both Soul and Maka's heads shot up. "We're not dating!" they said in a chorus.

"Oh? What do you kids call it these days, then? A fling? Is that what classifies your relationship?"

"No!" Soul squeaked, eyes wide and cheeks flushed red.

"Well then what does? Come on, I'm a lot older than you guys and I'm new at this. Cut me some slack and help a guy out."

"Death," Soul whispered, hiding his face in his hands.

"What?" the boss asked, grabbing a candy from a bowl nearby. He puts it in his mouth and moves it around with his tongue. "This tastes delicious, Soul," he changed the subject - to the dubbed couple this was a miracle, "Did you buy these?"

"Uh," Soul began, trying to get rid of his blush, "Black*Star had them at his house and I brought them in."

"Lovely!" Death dreamily exclaimed. Then his eyebrows furrowed, leaving a crease in his forehead. "Is the runt here?"

'_The 'runt' _definitely _is_,' Maka giggled internally.

"Not that I know of. But he wasn't at his house when I went there about an hour or two ago."

"Actually, he is here," Maka piped in, looking at their boss. "He's with my friend, Tsbuaki on a bench near the slushie stand. Unless they moved."

"Oh, goodness gracious. Soul, do you have the Tylenol here in case he drops by?"

Grinning, Soul nodded. "Sure do."

And sure enough they heard, "YAHOOOOOOO."

_..._

_i made it over four thousand words i am so proud yay_

_also idek how maka wasnt aloud on that ride but its fiction so dont judge my imagination _

_did ya guys like it? lemme know :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_wow lots can happen and then you can hardly find time to upload another chapter. thankfully now i can so i hope you all enjoy :)_

_..._

Immediately Soul handed the Tylenol from the table to Death; the boss popped one in his mouth and swallowed it dry without even batting an eyelash. The under reaction, that Maka was most certainly not expecting, had her in a silent laughing fit with puffed out rosy cheeks and tears not leaving her eyes. No one really knew why she found the whole thing funny, but they didn't bother her with it. They were busy dealing with Black*Star's heavy screaming and temper tantrums.

"I don't think the meds are kicking in," Death said with an irritated expression on his face that showed thoroughly.

"Nah," Soul piped in just as he was closing the lid of the bottle. "They'll take a bit."

Black*Star had decided to eavesdrop on their conversation, obviously, since he gasped abruptly which caught the two males' attention, and held his head high in a supposedly threatening way that made him look most superior. His teeth were grinding together, trying to block out Maka's fits of laughter, but he wasn't annoyed at all; he was very agitated, in fact. This was because he knew that they weren't treating him like they should have been and knowing that this was _never _going to change had him feeling down in the dumps. His nerves weren't caught up with his calm thoughts, though, so he was holding back the trembling threatening to get past his exterior.

He scoffed with a shaky breath. "You guys are so weak. You can't even handle my greatness without needing pills! Watch yourselves become addicts!"

"You need to stop talking so much about yourself, since you'll become even more cocky than you already are," Maka smirked, wiping the sticky corners of her mouth. "And if they become addicted to prescribed acetaminophen, it'll be because of you."

The blue haired boy started feeling unsettled. With tight joints and eyes glued to his peers and boss, his hands loosened by his sides and Black*Star scratched his neck, mumbling, "I'm not responsible for imbeciles." This went by unheard.

Later, Death mentioned how his headaches were slowly passing. This was quiet as to not alert the loud boy and have him start yelling again. But thankfully he didn't hear that and, instead, began groaning for no apparent reason. Everyone sent him annoyed glances and he just stuck his tongue out at them.

When they wanted him to leave, he wouldn't. And when Tsubaki came running toward them, shaking from confusion (she'd fallen asleep and Black*Star left her alone on the bench, so she had no idea where anybody was) Maka hit the boy with her fist.

She was clearly more upset than Black*Star had anticipated.

...

Never did she think that she would have to deal with going to a mandatory party, along with the rest of the employees and Death. They didn't need to go to work because the amusement park was closed - the rides broke down. Their boss told them that they must attend because it was his 'welcome' to Maka, and since she was a new staff member, he wanted to be the best he could be now that someone else worked with them; everyone knew that he wouldn't change, though, he had always been a slacker, but a great boss nonetheless. And to make sure that no one, especially Maka, decided to ditch the get together, he let each and every one of them know that it would not go unnoticed if they should not attend and that it was required.

Soul had groaned, going on about how he could have been in his pitch black home playing video games or something instead. Black*Star was having a hissy fit about it and Death ended up threatening the poor boy until he cowered beneath him. Maka, however, wasn't pissed off or upset, she was quite excited to get out and have some fun for once. It was that she realized earlier she had promised her parents she would visit them and tell them how things were going, and neither Death nor her father would let up despite both occasions being on the same evening, so she knew it was stupid to push aside what she, again, knew what she had to do.

Yeah, she had to bring her parents along. It had happened to her before about five years ago when she was merely fifteen. There was a school dance and she didn't tell anybody where she would be going, with the exception of her former friends, and Spirit showed up where she was. He was spitting everywhere, making a big scene, and drubbing through people to find his daughter. Because she was outside near the emergency exit door, where she and her friends had snuck to for a brief smoke. Someone, who Maka assumed to be Tsubaki back then, must have snitched on them, for Spirit found them in their worst haze and dragged Maka home. The smell of smoke lingered wherever she'd went and it attached itself to her clothes. When her mother was told what she was doing, she seemed to be disappointed, but Spirit was outraged.

_"Since when have you smoked?" he'd asked her, lips tight and forehead sweaty. "Do you even know how dangerous that is? Your lungs could give out faster, your tongue could turn-" he stopped himself mid sentence to swallow the spit that was previously spewing from his mouth, "it could turn into some hairy looking bigfoot replica - don't give me that look - or you could end up with some form of cancer!"_

_Maka felt like she really needed another puff because her muscles were tense and sore and she felt really unrelaxed. "I know what it can do, okay? I'm not a seven year old girl anymore. I'm informed about this kind of stuff in school, Pa."_

_"Then why are you doing it if you know of its consequences, young lady? You are fifteen!" He ignored the sound of footsteps drawing near the door of the room they were in. And he definitely didn't worry about lowering his voice. _

_But when the door opened and Kami entered, looking disheveled, Spirit stopped to watch her. Her tiny fingertips were playing with her nightgown, and she most likely recently plucked a hang nail, because there were small blood stains in the same place her hands were by her sides. Kami's expression was scared, as if she had experienced the same situation before and maybe she had. This didn't stop Maka from worrying. _

_"Mum, is everything alright?" she questioned, trying to keep steady breathing. _

_Her mother shook her head vigorously, not speaking a word or even a letter. She, Maka, saw pricks of tears in the corners of her mother's eyes and she felt her heart pound rapidly in her chest. Both of them were in a state where they couldn't get themselves to talk, not even capable of forcing anything out. Spirit, however, could form sentences rather well._

_He spat out, "Don't tell me you're going to go through one of your crying fits again, Kami. Grow up! This isn't preschool, darling, you're a grown adult now. It's time to act your own age! What about that?"_

_Lets just say the smell of copper got strong and it wasn't because of Kami's bleeding finger either. No, no one got hurt. Well maybe Spirit was an exception when it came to this, since he was laying there unconscious with a pool of blood surrounding his head. His wife had wacked him with a broom lying against the wall, cracking his head open. _

_"Mum?"_

_"Yes, sweetheart?"_

_"Is he alive?"_

_"Very much so. Now go get some sleep."_

_"You aren't going to take away my pack of smokes? Dad would."_

_There was only a soft shutting of the door that Maka realized was her response. And when she heard a whimper and another voice talking through speakers from the kitchen, she knew her mother was not okay, and neither were they as a family._

Because of her fear, she would do everything to keep that from happening again. So she was planning ahead.

...

The rubber odor was very gross, Maka thought, and so did Tsubaki and the rest of the crew. Black*Star, Soul and Maka were fanning near their noses and Death kept making gagging noises. Shoppers in the store looked diverted but the employees looked otherwise and kept watching them like they were lunatics.

Death The Kid (or Kid for short, the twenty year old woman learned) wasn't there yet because he was dealing with his painting skills. He was a passionate artist, but everything had to be absolutely symmetrical and perfect or he would burst into tears and thrash against the couch. Death once caught this on tape, because he just _loves _to film his upset son - some would retort 'what a bad father' but it was all fun and games in his mind.

Maka obviously had to meet Kid, and she wanted to, but she knew she would probably need to keep her pig tails lined up or she would get in between one of his strange fits. She decided to keep her down for most of the durations she would we having with him.

"Who set off a stink bomb, seriously?" Soul asked with a hint of disgust in his voice. "It smells like someone barfed in here and didn't clean it up."

A certain spiky blue hair-do popped into everyone's vision and they took a second before they understood that Black*Star had jumped into the air dramatically to get their attention. None of them truthfully cared, yet they stood there staring while plugging their noses.

"He sets out majestically in the air, swirling around the wicked and foul scent of evil and saves the many lives of his coworkers," the boy recited, eyes starry. His mouth turned in, lips disappearing, and he breathed through his nose in satisfaction. "Forever shall my presence be praised for I have fought in a battling war against the stink of hell!"

His body fell to the ground and he automatically complained about the probability of him breaking his back and arse. Everyone was laughing under their breath, trying not to let the object of their mirth know. He was undeniably oblivious to their entertainment.

"Way to go, bud," Soul commented dryly.

"You're my hero now," Tsubaki dreamily stated. No one could tell if she was serious or not.

Just then the store clerk, Justin, walked up to them with two dresses and three suits and ties. "Is this what you're looking for?" he asked genuinely.

"They're all black," Death said in awe. "My favorite color besides yellow!"

Soul rolled his eyes with a smile. Black*Star was still on the floor rubbing his bottom and Maka and Tsubaki were staring at the dresses like they were made of candy or something.

"Great," Maka said offhandedly, but there was a diamond shine in her green eyes. "Does this one," she started, pointing at the dress in his left hand, "come in tan?"

"MAKA!" Black*Star yelled, "Don't break the color coordination! We're all going in black!"

There was a pause and eyes were searching each others but then Death sighed and raised an eyebrow at his employee. "She will wear what she wants."

Under his gaze, Black*Star shrunk.

...

"Oh."

The girl was simply _there_ and he didn't know what else to say, because she looked stunning and out of his league and overall intimidating. She'd changed into her dress to see what it looked like and the results were ... _wow_. She would never be the type of woman he would feel comfortable asking to dance. And now she was in her long, flowy tan dress with her cute little matching flats on her feet, asking him to be her _dance partner_.

The crew had bought their chosen outfits of color and design, ignoring one of the idiots' taunts of 'You're all going to look horrible! Black's way better!' and then they were out of the store as soon as they could get out of the door. Death, of course, got a yellow and red woven striped tie that clashed with his purple and navy suit. He was never a fashionable man and often had trouble choosing good outfits. Kid would end up sorting him out though, because Death's tie was crooked and, being the painter he is, he will buy him better clothes.

Everyone else's clothes choices were unique. Tsubaki was in possession of the pink silk dress that brushed past her feet and had a cut in the side where her legs were. Her feet would sport two shining white stilettos with beige interior. Black*Star and Soul decided to just go with the black suits; Black*Star had a green undershirt whilst Soul had a light blue. Their shoes were black and made of leather.

So everything was going well. Outfits were picked out for the night to come and everyone knew where to go. It was all a matter of being able to dance and actually have someone to dance with. And when you're trying not to stutter, but it's hard, and you're trying not to make a fool of yourself in front of a beautiful woman who you just met a few days ago, it's not going to be simple enough to do those things.

Maka's posture changed due to tenseness. Did he not want to dance with her? Should she leave him be? He was, after all, incredibly handsome in her opinion and anybody would be lucky to dance with him.

"You have a partner, don't you?"

Soul's face fell. '_She got the wrong idea_,' he thought. But he lifted his chin, his head and his nose and he took a deep breath before he blurted out a messy, slurred, "No. You're my partner."

"I am?"

She looked genuinely surprised and confused. This made Soul smile lightly.

"Teach me how to dance, new girl?" he questioned quietly, tapping his fingers against his sides and his feet against the ground nervously.

"You don't already know how to dance?" The girl laughed at his bashful expression and nodded her head afterward. "Lets do it."

She began pulling his hand, dragging him down the block. The sky was already dark and it wasn't even five thirty yet.

"Now?"

"Yes," she smiled at him, "now."

...

Soul and Maka were in the ash blonde's back yard. A stereo was set on a dark brown and wooden chair that she hauled from the kitchen through the door with _much_ difficulty. The boy, despite being a visitor, hadn't come out of the bathroom for some time while she was dealing with such matters. But because he wasn't aware of anything, she restrained herself from hitting him on the head.

"Take a step this way," Maka whispered, eyelashes fluttering prettily against her high cheek bones. The sky was starting to show the bright stars; the dark tone and the bright mixing in contrast. Soft music was playing. It was mellow and sugar sweet and both the boy and girl were dancing to the beat. Soul, possibly, a bit more calculated.

_Give me all your love now_

_'Cause for all we know_

_We might be dead by tomorrow_

Their feet surprisingly never tangled and they glided smoothly with each other. Each step that they took was slow and steady, both watching each others steps, and they were licking their lips and swaying to the music so gracefully that it was impossible to guess that she was teaching him. Their moist tongues suddenly felt dry as they looked at one another's faces.

"Tell me about yourself," Maka said, her lips threatening to curl in.

His eyebrows raise.

"Was the lollipop story not enough for you, new girl?" he teased, almost tripping on his own feet.

She lets out a burst of laughter but quickly covers her mouth, embarrassed.

_I can't_

_Go on wasting my time_

_Adding scars to my heart_

_'Cause all I hear is_

_"I'm not ready now"_

He gave in.

"My parents raised me as a young little guy until I was about seventeen. That was when I moved out to pursue a music career."

"What instrument do you play?" she asked, completely interested. "Or do you sing?"

He laughed freely. "I play the piano and occasionally sing."

"Mister Music Expert over here." Maka bit her tongue at her own joke, holding down a giggle.

He just shook his head in amusement, trying to follow her movements.

_And I can tell_

_That you didn't have_

_To face your mother_

_losing her love_

"My family was normal for the most part."

"For the most part?"

"There was a lot of fighting between me and my mother. She wanted her child to grow up to be a business man with a load of cash. I ended up working at an amusement park with no cash." He watched how her face faltered and then brushed her cheek softly with his dirty thumb. "I never became a famous pianist, but then again not everybody gets what they want in life."

"Yes, but you're wrong," Maka mumbled. "Do you not think yourself worthy?"

"You're sort of poetic," Soul bit his lip, distracted. His eyes focused and he stared at the girl in front of him, the girl with her arms wrapped around his neck and body close to his. He made a noise and rubbed the back of his neck.

Their bodies got closer.

_Without saying goodbye_

_Without saying goodbye_

_'Cause she didn't have time_

"Did you know that I once had a dream where I was on stage performing."

_"He was on a stage in front of millions and millions of people. His mom and dad were in the front row seats, his brother, Wes, in the very back. He never understood why this was, though. Stage lights shone down on one spot of the stage, right where Soul stood, beaming and proud. His eight year old body was thin and his smile stretched for days; short little legs started walking towards a piano in the middle of the stage and his tail coat followed behind him. As he sat down, he lifted his head, shut his eyes, positioned his fingertips over the keys, and pressed down on them. _

_Every second that passed felt wickedly amazing. Despite being indoors, Soul felt alive in the wind and the chilled air. His ears stung from the coldness lingering around him and his hands were beginning to turn insensible. But through this all his playing never ceased, it never faulted, it stayed in the air of absolute perfection. _

_He spoke: _

_'Life, sometimes I forget_

_You are a mixture of_

_Elements, opposite to each, _

_Number in two, trap in between, _

_I forget, your essence exits_

_In between the banks_

_Where I am left to remain afloat'_

_And then the keys were slowly pushed on, the tempo going down a notch, and Soul was concentrating hard. The lights shut off, then yellow light was illuminating his figure. His parents were watching him, nonchalant faces staring into the abyss that was his eyes. Wes wouldn't look at him, he wasn't feigning pretending not to love. It's the truth, he'd say, as he kissed his forehead and tucked him in goodnight. The parents would say soothing whispers until his eyes fell, losing muscle control, then he'd be dreaming. But not this once._

_Faces watched him. He stopped moving. Emotions didn't display themselves on anyone's face; people who were mute stayed that way and people who weren't changed to be that way. Eyes resembled those of someone blind, bleary and unfocused. Pupils traveled in circles, seizure-like, and blinks were made. But not one word was spoken in the dark theatre._

_The boy on stage wouldn't break the silence of words either. So he applauded himself."_

Connection. That was the feeling he felt. The feeling she felt. It was like a gravitating thread, trapping them and tangling their limbs to fit as one.

Neither one of them would admit this.

"That was beautiful," Maka said, eyes wet with newly formed tears.

And she did understand what he felt when he went, "I think it was terrible."

_I don't want to judge_

_What's in your heart_

_But if you're not ready for love_

_How can you be ready for life?_

_How can you be ready for life?_

_So let's love fully_

_And let's love loud_

_Let's love now_

_'Cause soon enough we'll die_

"You're a skilled dancer."

"Am I?"

"You knew you were. Why ask me then?"

The boy hid behind his bangs, smile hidden. "Tough question."

...

Soul wanted the touch of his family more than ever. It never really occurred to him that maybe they wanted his touch too.

...

"You're a great dance partner."

"It's official?"

"We should paint it on our foreheads for all to see."

A distant look replaced the goofy smile on her face and then she goes, "Let's do it."

...

When Kid showed up and saw the unnatural paint splattered on Maka and Soul's temples, messy hair - one of Maka's pigtails _did _end up being higher than the other one - and wide grins on their faces, he couldn't help but freak and damage the wall with his violent pummeling.

When Black*Star showed up he was sporting a black-haired female by him and he dropped her on her arse to start laughing at the scene.

When Spirit received the call to show up he was with his wife and they were pulled down on the ground by a laughing Black*Star and Maka. Spirit cried. Kami just looked confused.

And when Death showed up, well, he just left the room again.

Honestly none of them ever felt so emotional in their lives.

...

_any kind of feedback is appreciated x :)_

_the song is We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow by SOKO and the poem is called Life 111 by Abdul Wahab_


	5. Chapter 5

_hi fellow readers! this chapters gonna be heavy on drama so be ready :) x_

...

It turned into a very messy paint fight eventually.

Paint was brought into the room - blue paint, green paint, pink paint, you name it - in dirty and old ice cream pails with metal holders. It was splashed around in the pails, some landing on the ground in droplets, and if anymore was added, it would most likely be near to leaking out.

Soul was the one who suggested bringing the colorful substance in buckets anyway. His dance partner objected several times but he pleaded her with puppy dog eyes each time, saying that it would be fun. She did, obviously, give in. Apparently her resistance would be put on hold when Soul was the one with the opposite opinion. Seriously, he was as handsome as a prince or something and it hurt her mentally (and somewhat physically, somewhere in her heart) when she had to fight against kissing him every time he looked at her like that.

_They'd snuck out to the back when Soul proclaimed he had an idea. _

_"I promise you that we will stay out of trouble, Maka," the boy said to her as she blinked away nervousness building up in her body. _

_"Why do you think that I should believe your promises are true?" she inquired. _

_This made the white-haired male stop hopping on his feet in excitement. It also made him re-think. If she didn't believe what he was saying, then did she believe anything he was telling her? _

_"Do you trust me?"_

_"What," she began, confused, "does this have to do with me believing your promise?"_

_"Well if you trust me, you would believe it in the first place. But if you don't trust me, then you wouldn't." He paused. "I personally think you don't trust me."_

_The look on the girl's face was dumbfounded. Of course she trusted him! If she didn't, she wouldn't have allowed him in her childhood home earlier that day. Most of all, she wouldn't have let herself be with him. Alone. _

_So she twisted her facial expression into one that showed offense. "Are you truly under the impression that I bring untrustworthy people into my parents' home, dance with them, share personal information with them and then come close to pushing them up against a wall?"_

_"Come close to pushing them up against a wall? Why would you want to do that?" This puzzled him. _

_"Genuinely pushing them up against a wall out of anger or -"_

_But he cut her off. "I didn't anger you, did I?"_

_"No."_

_"Then you're lying. It was out of something other than anger." He smirked mischievously. "Was it out of dominance?"_

_She hit him across the head heatedly. He tried to dodge it, but she managed to give him a good, hard wack. "You stupid man! Of course not!" _

_A blush appeared on her cheeks and he saw it, but kept his mouth shut about it. Instead, he spread his lips, ready to say something. He went, "So you trust me?"_

_Maka's eyebrows furrowed and her eyes held sadness. "Yes."_

_"Do you believe I will keep us out of trouble?"_

_"Not one bit."_

_He held his head high. "And why is that?"_

_A nerve on her forehead looked like it was pulsing rapidly. "Because." She breathed air in through her small nostrils. "If this scheme includes you, everything will turn into a disaster."_

_Soul let out a giggly type of laugh and said, "Now you're just getting ahead of yourself. Don't try to predict the future, new girl, because I _swear _I can be believed in. Try."_

_"Try ...?"_

_"Believing."_

_"I don't believe in creatures of the woods." Eyes flickered with an unidentifiable feeling. "Slenderman." _

_"Come on, don't use this-" he stopped, licking his lips, and their gazes met thoughtfully, "-against me."_

_He reached for her hand but she yanked away. Not out of fear or annoyance, but in a teasing manner. This made the spirited boy purse his lips, keeping his threatening smile at bay. Never did he think that a single girl could bring him such happiness that would leave him continuously smiling and feeling giddy. When he saw the tug of her lips, it was almost contagious, and he felt like he wanted to reciprocate the lovely gesture. This was new to him, for he never imagined it was possible to feel such glee in another person's presence._

_"Is the show ready to be put on? I'm ready for some action," the girl exclaimed, biting her nail. Her eyes flashed open wide for a second with a wide smile on her face._

_"I," Soul said, looking nonchalant, "thought you weren't agreeing because you didn't believe my promise was true?"_

_"I did. All of this is boring me, though," she chortled. "Come along."_

_She grabbed the tubs of paint from the back of a vehicle that they'd set them in for the remaining period and handed them to Soul. When he had successfully had them - firmly, without dropping them, like he almost had done twice - she grabbed her own two buckets and kicked open the back door of the room her friends were in. _

_As she walked in, swaying to the music, he realized he would never be able to know every feeling Maka felt each minute. _

_'She has mood swings like the wind', he thought. He watched her saunter over to a table, hiding the paint under the white table-cloth dangling over the edge, nearly at the floor. 'And her emotions are always _real_.' Her dad engaged in conversation with her, making her bend her head slightly, sticking her tongue out from the corner of her mouth with a goofy smile on her face. They laughed together. 'But isn't that what makes her most desirable? How real she is?'_

She remembered how it went, down to the exact time. 7PM. But only because she'd looked at her watch many times. Maybe more times than needed.

The thing that bugged Maka the most, though, was that in any sort of circumstance, she would feel obligated to stand up for herself. But when she was with Soul, she felt almost powerless. Not that he was suffocating her with fear of him or anything, because it wasn't to do with that. Her legs would go all wiggly, feeling like some sort of gelatine, and her mind would race with thoughts that she herself couldn't even begin to explain. She wouldn't feel like she could speak and when she could, inside she felt like she should just shut up and agree with him. This wasn't normal for her and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

She also didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.

_"I'll poor this on your head and your hair will be blue," Black*Star shouted. "What about it Soul?"_

_"I'd rather you not, thank you."_

_The boy hurrumphed. "I will not back down. A-ha!" he said as he jumped into the air, violently dumping the thick and colorful liquid-like substance all over Soul's head; his face and hair were all covered in purple. Dark purple._

_When Soul wiped it off his mouth as to not let any in because he knew how gross that would be, Maka and the rest of their friends stopped what they were doing to watch their interaction. _

_"Your hair is purple," Maka thought aloud._

_Seeing as his hands were full of paint and he wasn't going to allow any in his eyes, he spat out "you said it was blue" blindly. His fists clenched. "Get over here you bastard!"_

_He began chasing the other boy in circles until he fell to his doom when his feet slipped and he landed face first on the floor. Black*Star used this to his advantage and he smiled triumphantly as he stepped on his best friend's back not so carefully. _

_Everyone groaned._

_"I am the winner!"_

...

The pair ended up dancing together in the middle of the dim-lit room. Every glance between them was quick and they both made sure to never let the other see them.

"The paint is drying," Soul mentioned.

"Your hair might never be white again," the girl joked, eyes not showing her mirth.

He scoffed. "My face may never be white again."

Maka's laughter wasn't heard because of the booming music, but it was loud and full of genuine hilarity. "It's possible you may be purple the rest of your life."

"Like an alien."

"You're all sorts of creatures, aren't you, Soul?"

He pulled out a pack of gum from his back pocket and popped it into his mouth. He chewed grossly and she put her hand on his mouth to stop the sounds, giving him a disgusted look.

"And you're a pig," she added.

He chose to snort like one over and over and she cackled.

"I know what you can be for Halloween," the boy stated as he stopped the obnoxious sounds, staring at her in a dorky way. She looked like she was intrigued, so he shot out his opinion in a rush, "A witch."

Before she could look offended and express her feelings in a mushy way like he knew she would, he made her pause by pressing a finger against her lips. Their eyes were connected and Maka suddenly felt sweaty.

"It's all in your laugh," he giggled, biting his lip with a smile.

She held out her hand, waiting for a piece of gum. He caught on and handed her one. Once it was in her mouth, she spoke up. "Yeah? Well you sound like a fairy when you laugh."

Black*Star walked up behind them and muttered "Tinkerbell" before passing them.

"I am not Tinkerbell!"

The music quit and Soul's outburst caught Death's attention. "No, I think you're more like Chrono."

The purple haired lad looked confused. "Who's that?"

Maka rolled her eyes and tugged on her friend's sleeve. He looked down at her, smiling, and she gave him a look. "What's your favorite song?"

He muttered it back to her and she nodded, skipping toward the DJ (i.e Death). The song started playing soon enough and the ash blond girl made sure that she and her co-worker were dancing when it did.

"This is all so cheesy," Maka whispered as her head fell into his shoulder for a mere second. She sprung back up, embarrassed smile evident. "A party with people from work, dancing, playing people's favorite songs ... all of it."

Soul's face was gentle, "Of course."

"That's not a bad thing is it?"

He shook his head. "No, Maka."

"But I'm participating in all the cheesiness!"

He wanted to laugh at her but didn't, knowing that she was seriously bothered by something.

"Why does this worry you?" he asked softly.

_'I feel like you'll think I'm trying too hard,' she thought to herself, 'like in the movies.'_

But she gave him a kind expression and passed it off as nothing important. Although he knew she was not telling the truth, he let it go. This didn't stop him from being concerned for her well-being. No, he didn't want her to feel false happiness.

He felt his heart break as each minute passed.

...

Everybody left the party when the clock hit 10:30PM. They chatted, bid their farewells, and walked out the doors.

Soul received Maka's number and a kiss on the cheek. Though he felt as if he were on top of the world in that moment, he knew said girl was feeling blue, and immediately began regretting feeling so happy when he could have helped her.

He went to bed that night - after, obviously, washing the paint out of his hair - with his head phones plugged into his ears, listening to the song that was playing at the eyes closed slowly, breathing small breaths through his lips like a light breeze was escaping his mouth.

The song held so much meaning to him. He paused it, hopped off of his bed hastily, and raced toward his black, sleek piano in the corner of the room. He placed himself on the bench and, with certainty, grabbed the first sheet of music to his left and flipped it over. It revealed the notes of the song; Soul pressed down on the first note, singing along swiftly:

_Oh, misty eye of the mountain below_

_Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls_

_And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke_

_Keep watching over Durin's sons_

The singing stopped but the piano played out the melody. The piano's player had his eyes closed in concentration, focusing intently on the musical piece.

_If this is to end in fire_

_Then we should all burn together_

_Watch the flames climb high into the night_

_Calling out father, oh,_

_Stand by and we will_

_Watch the flames burn auburn on_

_The mountain side high_

He fell into the enchantment of the song, suddenly feeling light, but an odd feeling kept creeping up into his body like a spider clinging to its web.

_And if we should die tonight_

_Then we should all die together_

_Raise a glass of wine for the last time_

_Calling out father, oh,_

_Prepare as we will_

_Watch the flames burn auburn on_

_The mountain side_

_Desolation comes upon the sky_

An electric shock shoots through his body; he was unprepared and so his body jerks, making him hit the wrong note unpurposefully.

_Now I see fire_

_Inside the mountain_

_I see fire_

_Burning the trees_

_And I see fire_

_Hollowing souls_

_I see fire_

_Blood in the breeze_

_And I hope that you remember me_

He breathed slowly in an attempt of giving his lungs the air he so desperately needed but was finding hard to catch.

_Oh, should my people fall_

_then surely I'll do the same_

_Confined in mountain halls_

_We got too close to the flame_

The boy's voice cracked and he shivered. He wondered if he left a window open. And he, to his surprise, didn't.

_Calling out father, oh,_

_Hold fast and we will_

_Watch the flames burn auburn on_

_The mountain side_

_Desolation comes upon the sky_

_Now I see fire_

_Inside the mountain_

_I see fire_

_Burning the trees_

_I see fire_

_Hollowing souls_

_I see fire_

_Blood in the breeze_

_And I hope that you remember me_

Although his body began to feel limp and his breathing was beginning to become shorter in intakes, he still continued singing and hitting the keys.

_And if the night is burning_

_I will cover my eyes_

_For if the dark returns_

_Then my brothers will die_

_And as the sky is falling down_

_It crashed into this lonely town_

_And with that shadow upon the ground_

_I hear my people screaming out_

And his hands turned tingly; pins and needles tingly. They felt like they were stabbed by sharp objects. He knew he couldn't sing and could barely move, but he tried to speak, only letting out a squeak. His legs were stiff and he started to twitch, gasping for air. He needed _more air._

He fell forward, breathing harshly against the top of his piano keys, creating a creepy noise with dark undertones. He could have easily smashed something with his head because of the force that he fell at, but he didn't care about wrecking anything because he felt something ... something -

And he fell into unconsciousness.

...

When the red-eyed boy woke up, noticing the small chips of broken and dried paint on the floor in front of his face that didn't come out of his hair in his hasty shower, he almost had a panic attack. He'd scrambled up on to his hands and knees, wide eyes feeling the cold oxygen and nitrogen.

The floor was wet and he had no clue why. This caused him to freak out, pulling on his hair. He used his right hand to prop himself up higher and then jumped into the air, landing on his feet in a wobbly stance. After he caught his balance, he shakily walked out of his bedroom door into the hallway.

It had green carpeting, a small dark, wooden table at the end of it, with a picture of him fishing with his brother as a child. They were holding up a light green fish, specked with golden and orange and its gills shone in the sunlight like a burning sky. The closet was on the left wall that held towels and hand cloths that he used for the bathroom and kitchen. What adorned the walls were paintings that Kid gave him, ones he drew as a child, and sloppy hand prints in cement that contrasted against the dark blue color that the walls were.

He ran down it as fast as he could until he reached the bathroom at the end of the hallway. All that he heard was humming and the splashing of water vibrating in his ears. Possibly the sound of faint music on in the background, too, but he wasn't paying full attention to make certain of his assumption. As he was in a state of shock and befuddlement, he wasn't angry that somebody was currently in his bathroom, singing to tunes of their rubber ducky and the twinkle twinkle little stars in the sky, but rather unperturbed and dealing with feelings of high-strungness.

"Who is in my bathroom?"

Sure, it may have been an idiotic move if he were in a horror movie. But not always. Despite it being sort of hard to think normally, he knew that a killer wouldn't be having a bath and singing nursery rhymes in his home. Unless he was wrong and someone on the loose was called The Nursery Killer. He rolled his eyes at his oddball thoughts and held his head in his hands as he listened to the humming and noise stop until all he could hear was the sound of the shower curtains moving to the side. The rods were clacking against the hooks and the curtain sounded like it was being ripped, which made Soul cringe.

"I repeat, who the hell is in my bathroom?" he shouted, starting to feel rage in his system. It was overwhelming and he had the urge to thrash at something or someone. "Anyone?"

He got the same sound of silence and he growled in impatience. He wanted to know who was invading his home like this, making themselves at home. He didn't live with anybody and he knew that for sure, so how did somebody get into his house without a key? Did they pick lock his locks or something? Because he knew for sure that he didn't leave his doors unlocked last night.

The light inside the bathroom shone on the shiny floors and was shown through the tiny crack of the door that almost, but just didn't, reach the ground. As the pitter patter of feet filled Soul's ear drums, he contemplated what he was to do when the person opened the door; if they opened the door, at least. He might have to break it down. Then a zip was heard of someone zipping up their pants. Looking slightly pissed off, he yanked on the door knob and yelled something incoherent, even to himself. He was basically speaking jibber jabber in a gibberish language.

"Open the dumb door or I'll literally attack you with an _apple_ - no, shit, not an apple!" He hit himself in the head with his hands meanly, not caring about giving himself mercy for his stupid words. "A knife! I'll chop this damn door down with something and then stab you if you don't open this door and get the hell out!"

Suddenly the sound of the door unlocking _was _heard and Soul sighed in relief (he couldn't stab someone - he was too much of a pussy and he could easily admit this). Having to adjust his eyes to the incoming light, he squinted and almost flipped the other person over when he realized just who it was.

Blue hair.

Tan skin.

A high-pitched voice.

It all added up.

And his eyes went wide as he felt himself grow stronger, pouncing on the boy in front of him like he was an animal on the hunt. His arms were flying wildly, trying to pinch the skin of the person underneath him to make them bleed for making him reach his limits. He was not a happy camper, and when he pulled out a chunk of the boy's blue hair, making inhumane racket as he spat out curses and cruel phrases at him, he let out tears of anguish.

His body, once again, felt like it was going limp. It was a familiar sensation and he didn't like it one bit, but he wasn't going to fight it. In his mind, he knew that something was wrong, but he couldn't seem to pinpoint it down to its exact cause or _anything_. Yes, it was idiotic to attack his friend and basically wound him everywhere on his chest, seeing as he was half naked. But his emotions were on his sleeve and he wasn't possibly sure why he felt the need to control.

It was new. And powerful.

But it was not enjoyable.

"Why the fuck are you jumping on me like some shitty cat, Soul?"

The voice invaded his ears and he covered them, muttering soothing things to himself. He kept repeating "dont hurt me" until Black*Star thrusted his hands in front of his face, face looking determined to shut the boy up. The blue haired boy understood that something was going on, but he knew that actions spoke louder than words - he learned this from his mother and he was proud - so he hauled him into his arms, patting his back in a comforting way. Then soon enough the rubbing of Soul's nose was hitting his neck and the tears were spilling on it, too, but he didn't mind.

The boy had never talked to him about his family life but he had always assumed that he had a great life. But once he heard the sad whimpering come from the other boy who was directedly talking about him wounding and inflicting pain on him, he suddenly felt a dreadful emotion wash over his body. He never took the time to question it and now he regretted it. He wanted to know why his best friend was sobbing his eyes out, pointedly talking about being hurt, and he wanted to know _who_ did this to him.

"Look," he said in a drawl to make sure he was speaking comprehensively, because the other boy looked out of it. "I won't touch you anymore if you don't want me to."

Hands were reaching to him like a child wanting to be picked up, though Black*Star knew that this meant he wanted him to go closer. He did such and then Soul grabbed his face and made him stare into his eyes. They were filled with tears and he looked lost and hopeless.

"Please..."

His eyes narrowed in worrisome. "Huh? Soul, talk to me. What do you mean? Are you okay? You aren't going to die, are you? Answer me!"

Something slapped against his cheek and Black*Star realized it was a hand. A callused hand. It was then that it hit him; he was playing his piano last night. He wasn't sure if this was of importance, but last time, when Soul played it too forcefully, his hands looked like this. It looked like he made himself go too far, pushing boundaries that should have never been pushed.

"Can you... make sure-"

"Make sure what? Soul? Come on, buddy, speak up!"

The boy let go of his face and dropped his hands. He tried shaking them and they went in strange directions, alerting Black*Star that they were definitely numb.

"You have to tell me what's going on! What do you want me to make sure of?" the boy yelled, panicking. He was ready to frantically get up and do something - possibly find help but he needed to know what Soul had to say.

The boy's lips parted, dry skin peeling further. "That you don't call the hospital or take me to a doctor." He licked his lips after. "Please."

This confused the blue haired male. Why wouldn't he want him to call them? Isn't that usual approach? Most people probably would have called them by now.

"I can't just promise you that, Soul," he spoke up, mouth opening and closing. "You're obviously going through something! Don't tell me you're dying, oh my god-"

Spit came out of his mouth and Soul wiped it off of his face, frowning. Black*Star apologized, cutting off his speech, and then began rocking back and forth trying to lessen his nerves. He jumped up randomly and wiped his lips, drying them, and looked around him and his friend. He spotted a glass of water on a table and walked up to it, grabbed it, and gulped it down in one sip. Letting out a refreshed sound, he went back to the boy who was lying on his back, groaning.

"You didn't answer me. Are you dying? Soul?" No answer came. "For fucks sake, Soul, please don't give out the news like this. You bastard!"

Still having enough energy to roll his eyes, Soul did, and then let out a "i'm gonna live" before swallowing the spit building up in his mouth. Then Black*Star realized that he probably should have given Soul the water and punched himself in the head, ignoring Soul's protests, consistently and sped into the kitchen, filling up a glass of water. He came back with it in his hand and pretty well shoved it at Soul, making him drink it and making him come close to choking on the liquid. When the white-haired male was waving his hands about, signaling that he didn't want anymore, Black*Star set the glass down, sat on the coffee table and crossed his arms.

"Now you're telling me that you don't want me to call the ambulance? How am I supposed to figure out what is going on then, dude?"

Soul exhaled and shrugged.

Black*Star grunted, exasperated and concerned. "I'm trying to help you!" But then lowered his voice, not wanting to give his friend a headache. "Can you talk?"

Nodding his head, the red-eyed boy said, "Yes."

"Okay, has this sort of thing happened before?"

He merely shook his head. Negative.

"So," he said, staring into nothingness, "when _did _it happen?"

Everything was explained through tears, desperation and emotions. Soul told him how he was playing his favorite song on the piano and then began to feel like his body was frail and could be broken like glass. He didn't remember anything besides him waking up on the floor of his bedroom, scared and confused.

"Why did you think I would hurt you?"

Deciding not to give anything away, Soul just gazed at his hands, fidgeting.

Black*Star caught on. "It's a touchy subject, yeah?" A nod was what he got. "One that your god could understand then?"

Receiving a glare from him, he backed off and sighed. "Fine. I won't bug you about it anymore. But I'm calling somebody to come here."

He picked up Soul's phone that was resting on his chest and scrolled through his contacts. He saw Maka, raised his eyebrows, and didn't hesitate to call her.

...

Maka knew that the rides had broken down so they couldn't continue the rest of her training. She still wasn't completely great at her job, she had her imperfections and did make mistakes, but that was normal. She just felt like she could be doing something instead of sitting there, trying to tap out a text to her parents about how she wanted company because she was lonely. Shouldn't she be at the amusement park, learning more? Actively getting better at something?

For the most part she thought she was pathetic. Not for not going to work because that was out of everybody's hands. But knowing that she was basically feeling like a failure at everything she did didn't make any of it easier.

Developing a stupid crush on a boy that she worked with didn't help either.

But Maka was caught off guard as her phone rang, blaring her ring tone into the daylight and quiet area, so she immediately hit accept and placed the phone at her ear. "Hello?"

"Maka! Soul had a seizure last night, I think, and his body is going numb now! He can still talk but there's honestly some crazy shit going on right now - I mean, he started to-" he started whispering as he didn't want to attract Soul's attention, "shake and mutter about me not hurting him and it freaked me out! Can you come over to his place and help me? You're the first person I called and I understand if you are busy, I apologize, but if you could come that would be _amazing._" He finished this all in one breath, breathing rapidly.

Maka tried to process his words and felt anxiousness build up in her. "I'll be right there!"

...

The ambulance had walked right through the doors to see a pair of people looking scared. A man, precisely twenty years old, was in their arms and he had dried tears on his cheeks. The girl wouldn't stop kissing his forehead, though, mumbling to him about how it would be okay. He would grumble something at them back.

The men who just arrived couldn't help but feel their pain too.

...

Soul was sauntering out of the hospital doors, looking sorrowful.

Death was called and came right away to comfort the young man. When the doctor asked Soul if he had any parents, he had broken down crying. Honestly, if it all came down to anybody but said man explaining his family life, they wouldn't know what to say, because he wasn't open enough.

Sure, he shared the occasional bit of personal information. Maka recalled him talking to her about his dream and how his life was 'normal'. But she wasn't so sure she believed him now, what with Black*Star explaining to her how he believed he would hurt him after a brief quarrel. Someone must have made him scared of a physical touch - not a nice one, but a bad one. He feared the bad kind, but if nobody touched him like that, why would he?

Everybody's thoughts were going on and on in a continuous track. But they did not want to sneak themselves into his life if he didn't want to talk about it so they kept it all in and didn't speak a single word about it.

The doctor explained to them that he couldn't exactly identify what went down, but that it was most likely a seizure by what symptoms Black*Star described. That, or he just blacked out for no reason, but the doctor went with the former. So, after telling everybody not to worry and that Soul would be completely fine, they were led out of the doors.

Maka caught up with her friend and tapped him on the shoulder. "You doing okay?"

He looked up at her behind his bangs, like he seems to always do, and smiled thoughtfully. "I think so." His eyes gleamed.

She nodded her head stiffly and then her posture turned tense. She turned to her side and stopped Soul from walking any farther. As he was about to complain, she leaned in and kissed his lips lightly. He was taken aback and his eyes were like blinking lights, but he regained his composure and smiled, shutting his eyelids softly.

When she pulled back, they stared at each other.

Soul grinned, playing with her hair, and Maka breathed out a "good" before attacking him in a kiss again.

But he couldn't stop his giggling. "You know what? I think," he paused, mumbling this against her lips, "I think this is the best thing I could get after every little thing I've been through."

...

_idk i am tired and sort of just pooped this out of my brain if that makes sense_

_the song is I See Fire by Ed Sheeran_

_thanks for reading i love any kind of feedback xx _


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